BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21
Trend:
Azerbaijan is at the forefront of all rankings, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview to Azerbaijan Television, Ictimai Television, and Real Television following a groundbreaking ceremony of the offshore operations of the Absheron field at the Heydar Aliyev Baku Deep Water Jackets Plant, Trend reports.
“Notice that we have been independent for less than 30 years, but look at what we are doing. Today, Azerbaijani oil fully serves the interests of the Azerbaijani people, and not only our major oil and gas projects but also all other areas. Azerbaijan is at the forefront of all rankings. The infrastructure policy pursued in Azerbaijan and the implementation of infrastructure projects are referred to as examples. In Soviet times, there were no gas pipelines in our mountain regions. We have extended the first gas lines to Dashkasan, Gadabay, and Lerik. At that time, Azerbaijani gas was transported to other republics, but there was no gas in some parts of the republic. Now gasification has reached 96 percent. Today, we are in leading places globally in terms of infrastructure projects. The Davos Forum ranks Azerbaijan 11th and 12th in terms of air and rail transport. We are ranked 27th in the world for the quality of the road infrastructure. Look at other infrastructure and social infrastructure projects – 3,700 schools have been built and renovated in the years of independence. More than 700 hospitals have been built and provided with the latest equipment. We have become a space-faring nation, we are implementing huge oil and gas projects. Not only in the economic and industrial spheres but also in sports – we finished 14th for the number of medals at the Olympic Games. Was this possible to imagine in the Soviet era? If someone had said at the time that one of these was possible, people would probably laugh at them. This is the advantage of independence. We live in a free and independent country, we have our own destiny. Our natural resources serve the interests of our people,” the head of state said.
“Our natural resources serve the interests of our people. We have invested oil revenues very efficiently. We are protecting them and strengthening our army. Therefore, the advantages of independence are obvious. If someone remembers the past with such nostalgia, we must give these people an appropriate answer. Every individual who opposes independence and tries to humiliate it betrays our state. Independence is our core value, and the stronger we are, the stronger our independence,” the Azerbaijani president said.